REVIEW – Because indoor air is often dirtier than outdoor air, I’ve been searching for air purifiers for our home. The Gadgeteer was offered the Provirtec ClearBreathe Smart Air Purifier to review and I got the chance to do so. I have another air purifier I reviewed and like really well – it’s the Airthings Renew Smart Air Purifier. How does the ClearBreathe compare? Well, I’m on the fence about it.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $69.99
Where to buy: Amazon
What is it?
The Provirtec ClearBreathe Smart Air Purifier is a device that filters/cleans your air of particulates as small as 0.3 micrometers and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It uses five layers of filtration to accomplish this task.
What’s included?
- ClearBreathe Smart Air Purifier
- 4-in-1 filter (plus the grey fabric filter on the outside of the purifier)
- Power adapter
- User Manual
Tech specs
Product Name: ClearBreathe Smart Air Purifier
Floor Area: 1000ft²
Power Source: ac
Control Method: App, Touch, Voice
Noise Level: 24dB
Filter Life：365 Days
Product Weight: 5.42 Pounds
Dimensions：8.11″D x 8.11″W x 13.46″H
Wattage：36 watts
Connection: WiFi preferred
Modes: Manual, Auto, and Sleep
Adjustable Speed Levels: 1-10
Timer Range: 0-12 hours
CADR(Clean Air Delivery Rate)：200m³/h /CFM118
Air Quality Indicator: Blue – Excellent, Green – Good, Yellow – Moderate, Red – Poor.
Controller Type: Prodigytec App, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, iOS, Android
HEPA Level: H13 (>0.3um particle capture rate>99.97%)
Design and features
Assembly
The Provirtec ClearBreathe Smart Air Purifier is a nice-looking lightweight air purifier. The top half is hard white plastic while the bottom half is covered in grey fabric.
The back of the purifier has a sensor to detect particulates.
The above photos show the touchscreen control panel on top of the purifier and the handle to use on the bottom when twisting off the lower half of the purifier to change the filter.
The purifier was shipped with the filter installed (it was in a plastic bag inside the purifier). You need to remove the bottom of the purifier to extract the filter from the bag and re-install it.
The ClearBreathe boasts having five layers of filtration:
- Fabric Pre-filter – Captures large particles such as cotton lint, fibers, hair, and pet fur.
- Nylon Pre-filter – Captures smaller particles, such as cotton fluff and small hair.
- Main Filter – Filters minute particles such as tiny dust, smoke particles, pollen, and pet dander.
- HEPA High-efficiency Filter – Physically adsorbs smoke, odors, allergens, and other ultra-fine particles. Filters compounds such as formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
- Activated Carbon Filter – Adsorbs gaseous pollutants from pets, kitchens, secondhand smoke, indoor mold, etc., and reduces environmental odors.
Setup
I had some trouble adding the device to my WiFi network and the Provirtec app. To add it, you need to long press the power button to enter WiFi detection mode. The app looked like it found my purifier, but when I tapped on it to add it, it gave me a message to unplug and plug it back in. I had to try three or four times before I was successful.
Performance
Each of the buttons on the control panel does the following:
- On/Off – Tap to turn on/off the air purifier. It defaults to the speed used the last time it was turned off. For network pairing, you need to long press for three seconds until the WiFi indicator light on the control panel starts flashing. The air purifier will reset and enter the state of network pairing (the state of network pairing will last for 10 minutes).
- Timer – Tap multiple times to set a timer (0-12h) to run the air purifier for that duration.
- Speed Level – Slide to adjust the fan speed (1-10 levels). You can also tap the desired position on the speed bar to adjust the speed. The air purifier has a memory function, such that when you turn on the air purifier, it will run at the mode and speed used the last time it was turned off.
- Auto Mode – Tap to turn on/off the Auto mode. In Auto mode, the air purifier will automatically adjust the fan speed level based on the air quality (PM2.5 concentration).
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- When the air quality is moderate or poor, the air purifier will automatically run at a higher speed to quickly purify the air.
- When the air quality is good or very good, the air purifier will automatically run at a lower speed.
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- Sleep Mode – Tap to turn on/off the Sleep mode. In Sleep mode, the air purifier will run at a lower speed. You can adjust the speed based on your personal tolerance for noise during sleep. If there is no activity for 3s, the screen display will turn off (any touch will turn on the screen display). The air purifier can remember the speed setting, and the next time it enters Sleep mode, it will automatically run at the speed used last time.
- Child Lock – Long press for two seconds to turn on/off the child lock. When the lock indicator light lights up, the buttons on the screen are locked. When it is off, the child lock is turned off.
- Filter Reset – When the filter life is < 10%, an indicator will light up on the control panel. After replacing the filter, press the filter reset button for three seconds to reset the filter life to 100%. After resetting, the indicator light will shut off.
The touchscreen control panel looks nice, but I had trouble with it recognizing all of my taps. Light touches seem to work best.
You can use the app to control the air purifier too. It’s well-organized and easy to use.
The above video illustrates the noise level and how the air purifier works.
I prefer to use the purifier in Auto mode or Sleep mode. I use Auto mode when I want the purifier to detect impurities in the air and adjust the fan speed automatically to clean the air quickly. I like Sleep mode because it turns off all the lights on the device so I can sleep.
The above video shows how the air purifier detects and reacts to my candle-smoke test.
While the air purifier seems to filter the air of large smoke particles, it doesn’t seem to clear the air of odors. I could still smell the candle smoke in the air for several minutes after the test.
Final thoughts
I’m on the fence about using the Provirtec ClearBreathe Smart Air Purifier as an air purifier. It seemed to filter the air of large smoke particles when I tested it with candle smoke from a recently extinguished candle.
However, it isn’t very robust, the touchscreen control panel doesn’t register touches well, it doesn’t handle odors very well, and it’s a little louder than I like when using the lowest setting (though, some of you may like the hollow pink-noise whir from the purifier and even sleep better with it).
I’m not sure I recommend the Provirtec ClearBreathe primarily because it doesn’t seem to handle odors in our house well.
What I like about the Provirtec ClearBreathe Smart Air Purifier
- It’s easy to use
- It seems to filter the air of large particulates
What needs to be improved?
- The touchpanel is not very responsive
- It feels cheaply made
- It doesn’t seem to handle odors well
- It’s louder than my Airthings purifier when both are on the lowest settings
Price: $69.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Provirtec. Provirtec did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Check out our other air purifier reviews!
- Airthings Renew Smart Air Purifier review
- Morento MR7655-WF Smart Air Purifier review
- Membrane Solutions MS601 Extra Large Room Air Purifier For Allergen Remover review
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